In an op-ed published Monday in The New York Post, Paul called the president's decision "a mistake," arguing that the line between local law enforcement officers and soldiers is "eroding."

"To support our local police, we must first realize they aren’t soldiers. But today the line between the two is being eroded," he wrote.

"Given these developments, it’s natural for many Americans — especially minorities, given the racial disparities in policing — to feel like their government is targeting them. Anyone who thinks that race does not still, even if inadvertently, skew the application of criminal justice isn’t paying close enough attention," Paul added.

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He also announced plans to introduce a measure when Congress returns from its recess that would bar the transfer of military equipment from the federal government to state and local law enforcement agencies.

That ban, he writes, would only apply to offensive equipment and would allow the federal government to give defensive equipment, like body armor, to local and state law enforcement agencies.

That the federal government is willing and able to give such surplus military equipment to local police departments signals a massive overreach of power and erodes trust between law enforcement officers and the communities they're charged with policing, Paul writes.